


A Promise Unkept

by alexcyprin (Megatraven)



Series: Lovestruck [30]
Category: Labyrinths of Astoria (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Apologies, Betrayal, Broken Promises, Confrontations, F/M, Guilt, Heartbreak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28435923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megatraven/pseuds/alexcyprin
Summary: The night before the ritual to awaken Hera, MC finds herself in Hades' office, seeking the comfort his presence used to give her.
Relationships: Hades/Main Character (Labyrinths of Astoria)
Series: Lovestruck [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587814
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	A Promise Unkept

There’s a knock, soft on his door, that startles him out of his thoughts.

He almost misses it, and he might have, should anyone else have been in his estate other than... her.

Sitting up straighter, and running his fingers through his hair, he thinks that maybe he should pretend to have fallen asleep. Ignore it.

But the knock comes again, a little louder, though he can detect the hesitance in the action.

“Come in,” he says, sighing and preparing himself for whatever she’ll accuse him of now. There’s a tally going in his head, of all the things she’s said- that he’s selfish, and a monster, that loving him was a mistake, that she hates him. On and on it goes.

The door cracks open, first, and he can see her peek in, checking to see if anyone else is in there. When she finds that it’s just him, the door opens just enough for her to come in, and shuts behind her just as quick.

They were both always fairly private before, when things had been good, but it was almost always at his insistence. That she opts for privacy now is surprising to him, especially when it cuts off her escape, if things get too heated between them.

He doesn’t say anything.

She doesn’t either, choosing instead to flit around his office, looking at the different books or items he’s collected and held onto over his many lifetimes. His eyes follow her everywhere she goes, even knowing he should return to his work. But-

Well.

It might be the last moment he has, to drink in the sight of her, to see how she acts with the world around her.

There’s a twinge in his heart, and he pushes down on it, clearing his throat to break the silence. Arms crossed, he levels her with a look.

“What are you doing in here, and up so late? You should be resting. Tomorrow is-”

“Don’t say it,” she snaps, the sad expression she’s had for the past month turning to anger again, briefly. There’s still a fire in her, but now- it flickers. She looks away from him, and her voice is thick with emotion. “Don’t... please don’t say it.”

Obliging, he drags his gaze from her, too, and repeats his first question.

“What are you doing here?” And then, because he can’t seem to help himself, “I thought that you hated me.”

He expects her to agree with him as soon as he says it.

She doesn’t.

Glancing at her, Hades sees that she’s looking down at her hands, twisting the ring on her finger that ties her to her fate. It’s an anxious thing, something she’s done from the beginning, when they met and she first got the ring from Alex. It looks more pained, now, though it’s not surprising.

“I...”

Taking a deep breath, she raises her eyes to his once more, unflinching. That always amazed him, even if he did smother the effect his presence had on mortals. Lately, he’s done it less and less and still, she’s unaffected.

“I didn’t mean to,” she says, sounding small. She tries for a weak, wobbling smile. “Habit, you know. Tough to break.”

“And what habit would that be?” he asks, though he already knows. It’s some kind of torture to them both that he even asks, and he regrets it the moment the words leave his tongue. 

Her face twists, in the way that it did when she asked if he had any plans to save her, and he couldn’t answer it in the way she needed him to.

“You used to help me feel better. You were comfortable.” She shrugs. “Familiar.”

Hades opens his mouth to say something else, but no words come. He wasn’t a god that was left speechless very often, but her truths have a way of digging into heart, into his _soul_ , and rendering his mouth useless.

She speaks from the past, and for the shortest moment, no longer than the span of a second, he sees the ghosts of what they used to mean to each other. And, worse, he sees the distance between them now, what they’ve become.

“So you sought me out because...”

“The memories are nice.”

Quiet again. He turns back to the work in front of him, not sure what to say to that. If he can bring her some modicum of comfort now, despite her misgivings, then he’ll let her stay.

Maybe, it’s enough that neither are alone.

It’s not, of course, but the hope remains anyways, until she speaks again.

“I still love the god that I fell in love with, you know,” she says, out of the blue.

Hades looks up, shocked, and throat suddenly dry. She’s standing even further away than before, toying with a small trinket on one of his shelves. Her lips move, but she doesn’t say anything more, not until she’s turned her back to him completely.

“Only, he died the day that it was decided I would, too.”

The way she says it strikes him, violently, and he pushes his chair back from the force and speed at which he stands. Leaning over his desk, one hand planted firmly down, he points at her, accusatory.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he claims, and there’s something almost dangerous in his voice.

It scares him, but he can’t seem to stop as he makes his way around the desk to tower over her. His eyes, normally so light, brew with a dark emotion.

“You think I stopped loving you then? You think I don’t still love you, now?” His voice is low, but it fills the office. Without meaning to, his aura pulls the shadows of the room around them both, suffocating and cold.

Surprise flits over her gaze at how sudden he’s come onto her, and when she tries to take a step back, to regain some distance, her back hits the shelf. 

She should be afraid, she thinks, but truth be told, there’s nothing Hades would ever do to her that could be worse than what’s already been done. So rather than cower, or avoid his gaze, or apologize, she crosses her arms and stares him down.

“No. I don’t think you do,” she tells him, and it’s acid on her tongue, a bitter truth.

Hades’ hands clench into fists at his side, for only a moment before he brings his hands up, hovering over her cheeks. He’s so close, that she feels the heat radiate off of him, a contrast to the cold of his shadows.

“Then you don’t know me at all,” he whispers, the broken edges of his heart forcing his voice to be rough and raw.

They stay like that, frozen in time, until Hades looks away and closes his eyes, letting his hands fall back to his sides. A long, defeated sigh escapes him, and he steps back, away from her. He shakes his head, all the energy drained from him, and his aura shrinks away.

“I’m sorry.”

It’s only two words, but they carry more than she has time to hear, heavy with everything left unsaid between them, things that might have saved them both.

Her heart beats, pained, and she makes no effort to shield him from her devastated expression. Her lip wobbles, and she sniffs, doing her best, at least, not to cry just then.

It surprises them both when she moves back into his space, her hands reaching up, ever so gentle, to settle over his face. Everything stills again, but not for so long this time, as she pulls him down to her, and she leaves a terrible, aching kiss at the corner of his lips.

She doesn’t meet his eye when hers open again, already breaking away from him and heading for the door.

“That’s not enough,” she finally says.

Then she leaves, shutting the door softly behind her.

The emptiness Hades feels from her absence just then, is one he knows he’ll suffer through for the rest of his life by the end of tomorrow.

He makes his way back to his seat, burying his head in his hands.

“Better get used to it, old man,” he murmurs, to only himself. “Now’s a good time to start.”

Taking a moment to recollect himself, and to straighten out his suit, he looks at the papers that lay in front of him.

And then he gets to work.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and Kudos appreciated!
> 
> If you'd like to request something, or just talk about lovestruck in general, you can send an ask to my sideblog @official-alex-cyprin or my main @megatraven on tumblr! Any requests I receive for characters I haven't met/played through yet will be saved in my inbox until I have met/played them!


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